Please explain some of the symbolism in "The Pit and the Pendulum."

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“The Pit and the Pendulum” is full of symbols. Although they are all open to interpretation, several, particularly the pit and the pendulum themselves, are very clear and comprehensible given the themes and atmosphere of the story.

The narrator is condemned by white-lipped, black-robed judges, whose resolution and contempt for human life suggest that they symbolize fate. He then notices seven tall candles, which at first seem like angels but quickly become “meaningless specters with heads of flame.” The narrator himself says that he saw no help would come from them, showing that they symbolize the departure of hope, perhaps hope from a spiritual or religious quarter.

The pit symbolizes the ever-present threat of death and hell, into which it would be all too easy to cast oneself in despair or sink without even realizing it. The...